YPFP Events

Words & Wires: Lord Howell on Power and Persuasion in an Age of Networks

Location

A former Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Lord Howell will be speaking about his new book, 'Old Links and New Ties: Power and Persuasion in an Age of Networks'. In an international landscape where emerging states from Asia, Africa and Latin America are projecting greater economic and political strength, countries like Britain have to redefine their roles in this new world order. These new roles, argues Lord Howell, will rely far more on fluid networks than on geographically defined blocs. To succeed in this new environment Britain needs to engage and re-energise the existing network of Commonwealth nations which is bound together by history and culture. Emphasising the importance of soft power in the digital age, Lord Howell argues against the restrictions posed by traditional blocs and for the dynamism which the Commonwealth can offer.